Horror movies on Netflix UK October 2022: top 13 scary films and new releases to stream this Halloween season

There are plenty of great horror films available to watch on Netflix this October in the run up to Halloween, but as is often the case with the streaming service, they are hard to find among the lower quality films.

On 1 October, among the list of new additions to the platform were the unforgivably bad first two Paranormal Activity sequels - this on the same day that the first five Halloween Films, Dawn of the Dead, and Pet Sematary were removed from the site.

But if you’re looking for a selection of great horror films (and a few guilty pleasures) to watch this October, we’ve done that hard work for you.

These are our top 13 horror movie picks that are available to stream on Netflix in the UK this month:

1408

This adaptation of a chilling Stephen King novella makes for a creepy psychological thriller starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson.

Mike, a man who debunks claims of paranormal events for a living checks into the notorious room 1408 of a Net York City hotel - the hotel staff avoid the room like the plague and it is usually barred to guests after a string of unexplained deaths occurred within its four walls. Having checked in, Mike’s cynicism is quickly tested as his reality breaks down, and he begins a desperate bid to escape the room before it claims him as its latest victim.

The Crow

This film has gained a cult following owing more to the tragic events surrounding production rather than the film’s inherent quality. Brue Lee’s son Brandon, who plays the lead was killed during filming when a gun that was supposed to contain blanks was fired and was found to have contained a live round.

The plot follows a musician, Eric, who is killed alongside his fiancée by a violent gang - on the anniversary of the killing Eric rises from the grave and tracks down and murders the gangsters responsible in a bloody mission for vengeance.

Doctor Sleep

The Shining isn’t available on Netflix (the site has embarrassingly few films of any genre from before 1990) so this is the next best thing.

The horror sequel, another Stephen King adaptation, follows an adult Danny Torrance as he is affected by the trauma he experienced as a child at the Overlook hotel. A young psychic pursues Danny as an evil cult that feeds on their powers hunts them both.

Event Horizon

This atmospheric sci-fi horror has proven divisive since its release, but it’s certainly worth adding to your Halloween watch list.

In the near future, the Event Horizon, a starship that disappeared during its maiden voyage, sends out a distress signal seven years later and a fresh crew are sent to the vessel. On their arrival the rescuers realise that the Event Horizon had travelled to Hell and become self aware while the original crew had massacred each other in a brutal fashion.

Final Destination

A sixth Final Destination has been in the works for years, but this is where the franchise began back in 2000.

The cult flick follows a group of teens who cheat death by leaving a plane before it takes off on a fatal flight when one of their group has a premonition of the imminent mid-air explosion. However, death doesn’t take kindly to being cheated and those who left the plane are picked off one by one in a series of contrived and bloody mishaps.

Hostel

Even though this is a list specifically dedicated to horror films, it feels necessary to issue a content warning for this one - this is a very gory and disturbing film.

The premise is very simple, three friends backpacking in Slovakia stop at a hostel hoping for a hedonistic weekend, but are instead treated to torture, mutilation, and death. A Dutch businessman, who harboured dreams of being a surgeon kidnaps the travellers and methodically tortures them for his own sadistic pleasure.

Insidious

Shot in just three weeks, this paranormal film follows two parents who try to stop evil spirits from trapping the soul of their comatose son in an otherworldly realm. The family must explore their own past as it holds the key to saving their son.

The movie has spawned three poor sequels with a fourth on the way in 2023 - but the first instalment is nevertheless worth a watch.

Midsommar

From Ari Aster, the director of the pinnacle of psychological horror films, Hereditary, Midsommar also holds up as a chilling piece of cinema.

There’s a lot of The Wicker Man about this folk horror which follows a couple who travel to Sweden for the midsummer festival, but are targeted by a group of pagans who practice human sacrifice.

Monster House

This animated family film doesn’t necessarily count as horror, but it has most of the trappings of the genre. When two teenage best friends discover that the house across the street is actually a monster and has stolen toys from children across the neighbourhood.

The pair learn that the house is possessed by the spirit of the owner’s wife, and they plan to destroy it on Halloween night in order to free her from it.

Sleepy Hollow

This Tim Burton gothic adaptation of the Washington Irving story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow follows Ichabod Crane as he investigated three mysterious beheadings.

Ichabod’s investigations bring him face to, well, not face, with the Headless Horseman, a mythical figure believed to be behind the killings. The film is the third of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s collaborations to date.

Sinister

We’re back in seriously scary horror territory now, and Sinister is lauded by connoisseurs of the genre. The film follows a washed up true crime writer who stumbles across a box of home videos at a property he has recently moved into - but he soon realises they are snuff films connected to a cold murder case.

As he watches the films, an ancient and evil deity, the Bagul, which feeds on children, is unleashed on the world. If it sounds reminiscent of The Ring, that’s probably because the screenwriter got the idea for the film after having a nightmare induced by the earlier movie.

The Woman in Black

Despite its 12a rating, and the fact that it stars Daniel Radcliffe in his first role since playing the boy wizard in the Harry Potter films, The Woman in Black is actually pretty terrifying

Adapted from Susan Hill’s novel of the same name, this film sees Radcliffe’s Arthur Kipps travel to an isolated mansion on a remote private island to settle a deceased woman’s estate. On arrival, and cut off from the nearby village by high tide, Kipps is haunted by the ghost of the scorned woman.

Wrong Turn

Another video nasty, Wrong Turn is one of the better Texas Chainsaw Massacre rip-offs.

When a group of friends are left stranded and lost in the woods, they take a - you guessed it - wrong turn and happen upon a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately for the group, the cabin is inhabited by a group of cannibalistic mountain men and a fatal game of cat and mouse ensues.